Addressing the ‘digital divide’ with The Digital Poverty Alliance
Author: Phil Parkes, Network Coordinator, Expert Citizens
Hi everyone, my name is Phil Parkes, and I am the Network Coordinator at Expert Citizens. Expert Citizens are a community interest company built by and for people with lived experience. We exist because we care about people and the world we live in. Our belief is that we can make a difference and that everyone has potential. Our goal is that systems are led by the people they are designed to serve for the collective interest of society. We are also proud to be one of the founding members of the APLE (Addressing Poverty with Lived Experience) Collective, who for the last 2 years have been working on addressing the digital divide.
We have been looking at this through many lenses, we have our overarching ask of a government funded national free Wi-Fi, but we are also working with many other organisations on different projects, all in aid to getting people who want to be connected digitally active. One of these projects we have been working on is a local one working with Staffordshire University and partners on the Discover Digital project. This project has looked at tackling all aspects of the digital divide at the same time, by that I mean they tried to address lack of tech and data with a grant scheme where people and organisations could apply for new laptops and data packages. They were also able to set up a one stop shop in our local shopping centre that offered some training opportunities ranging from basic (how to turn on your computer and connect) to more advanced (using a drawing tablet or how to identify internet fraud).
As part of my work with APLE I was able to attend the Digital Poverty Alliance’s Digital Poverty Evidence Review on Monday 27th at the House of Lords in London. This event was also attended by a whole host of organisations all looking to bridge the digital gap. The review was written by Dr Kira Allman who is also working with us as part of a research project with Ada Lovelace that involves lived experience looking into how health care systems have been digitised. The report highlights 5 factors that all need to be looked at together to help end digital poverty. These factors are devices and connectivity, access, capability, motivation and support and participation. In the report it states that this is important because:
‘More than ever, not having access to the digital world means not having access to fundamentals of life. As a result, digital exclusion can exacerbate existing inequalities in society or introduce new inequalities. While the pandemic made us all more aware of the digital divide, it’s clear that more progress needs to be made to address digital poverty and its underlying causes.’
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.14.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.14.6″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][wdcl_image_carousel _builder_version=”4.14.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https://expertcitizens.bwardemo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/laptop.png” parallax=”on” width=”100%” max_width=”100%” height=”413px” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” locked=”off” alt=”half open laptop with lighting effect” title_text=”half open laptop” sticky_enabled=”0″][/wdcl_image_carousel][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.14.6″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.14.6″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]The value of lived experience is not lost in this report also with contributions from us at the APLE Collective being recognised. Also mentioned is the lack of qualitative, lived experience, and co-produced research:
‘Third sector, front line providers of digital assistance work very hard to consult, collaborate and co-create interventions with their communities in order to deliver services. They have insights into the lived experience of digital exclusion, which get conveyed in reports through illustrative case studies and pull quotes. But comparatively little academic evidence on the digital divide comes from qualitative studies, lived experience, or co-produced research with people who experience digital poverty in the UK. There are some notable exceptions, such as the APLE Collective report on “Socially Distanced Activism”200 and Sonia Livingston and Alicia Blum-Ross’s book, Parenting for a Digital Future. But this remains a major gap in evidence, policy, and practice because qualitative research is most likely to reveal the intersectional realities of digital exclusion. There is unquestionably a need for more public participation — consultation of the public and insights gathered from lived experience — in both evidence gathering and policy formulation around digital poverty.’
I think this report, along with all of the other work we have been doing for the past few years, goes a long way to address the importance of closing the ever-widening digital gap to allow everyone that wants to be online the option of being fully digitally active. We know there is a lot of work to be done but we are committed to making sure nobody is left behind by this digital whirlwind that has set upon us. I for one will continue to work towards our long-term goal of free Wi-Fi for all but will be making sure I spread my focus to allow smaller projects to flourish.
References
https://digitalpovertyalliance.org/uk-digital-poverty-evidence-review-2022/
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